Arriving at the Celestial Sanctuary, Celestial City

The immortal boat traveled smoothly through the air, the sea of clouds and mountains outside the window rapidly retreating.

Gu Changyuan held Gu Xing'er in his arms—who had crawled onto his lap at some unknown point and was now playing with a strand of his hair with great relish—and looked forward.

Tomorrow, they would arrive.

Returning to the old place after a thousand years.

He wondered if those little guys were all doing well.

Just as Gu Changyuan's thoughts drifted away—

The aura inside Gu Xing'er, who was lying on his lap and had been quietly watching the night scenery, suddenly underwent a subtle change.

Her spiritual energy began to accelerate autonomously. The Qi Condensation realm spiritual energy cyclone in her dantian, which had already reached perfection, was spontaneously compressing and condensing, transforming into a more stable and powerful form.

Gu Changyuan noticed it instantly, and his right hand gently touched Xing'er's forehead almost simultaneously.

With a slight probe of his divine sense, he understood.

She was about to break through.

Breaking through from peak Qi Condensation to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Outside the immortal boat, high in the firmament, thousands of stars shone exceptionally bright.

Wisps of extremely pure starlight power, barely visible to the naked eye, were drawn by the Chaos Star Spirit Body within Gu Xing'er.

They quietly passed through the immortal boat's defenses, merging into her body, nourishing her meridians and dantian, and accelerating the Foundation Establishment process.

Gu Changyuan could feel that Xing'er's breakthrough was exceptionally smooth, even natural.

The Chaos Star Spirit Body was inherently close to the Great Dao of Stars. Breaking through on a night with such abundant stellar energy yielded twice the result with half the effort.

A moment later, the spiritual energy fluctuations gradually calmed down, and the aura inside Gu Xing'er completely stabilized at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

An eight-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns across the entire Nine Heavens Continent, an extremely rare existence.

Looking at the sleeping little girl beside him, Gu Changyuan couldn't help but think of his ten disciples from back then, sighing inwardly:

When he took them in as disciples, every one of them was already over eight years old. Furthermore, he had just established the Heavenly Human Sect at the time and was completely destitute, with no valuable resources on him at all. He truly had nothing.

If the system hadn't happened to find Ye Qingxue, who was the closest person to Gu Changyuan capable of cultivation, thus allowing him to begin cultivating as well, Gu Changyuan wouldn't have even known where to go to recruit disciples.

One must know that Gu Changyuan was just a mere mortal back then. If the distance had been too far, it would have been a question whether he could even get there.

Fortunately, he met Ye Qingxue, who was a homeless little beggar at the time, and possessed a rare talent level of ten, enabling him to step onto the path of cultivation.

And Ye Qingxue became the first disciple of the Heavenly Human Sect, and should also be the First Ancestor of today's Heavenly Human Holy Land.

We didn't have such conditions back then. For them to achieve what they have today, apart from the basic resources I gave them, they had to rely on their own hard work for everything else.

Unlike you, little girl, who has massive resources at your disposal right after awakening your physique, making breakthroughs so effortless.

Gu Changyuan grumbled in his heart. Looking at the sleeping little girl beside him, he gently raised his hand and lightly tapped Gu Xing'er on the head.

......

Time quietly slipped by during the immortal boat's smooth flight.

When the outline of a towering, massive city appeared on the distant horizon, the sky was already bright.

This was the core city within the sphere of influence of the Heavenly Human Holy Land—Heavenly Human City.

On the city walls, the figures of patrolling cultivators could be faintly seen, none of their auras weak.

Even more eye-catching was the massive formation phantom floating above the city, radiating a soft white light. Shaped like a blooming lotus, it slowly rotated, enveloping the entire city within.

That was the powerful grand city-defending formation. Not only was its defense astonishing, but it also had the effects of detection, early warning, and purification.

This city was a gathering and trading place specially built by the Heavenly Human Holy Land for its disciples. On ordinary days, it allowed inner and outer sect disciples to exchange goods. Whenever the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Ceremony was held, it became a resting place for foreign participating cultivators.

After all, the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Ceremony lasted for three days, starting at sunrise and ending at sunset each day, with no assessments conducted at night. Those cultivators who arrived late or needed a break between assessments would choose to stay in Heavenly Human City.

"This place is also known as the safest city in the Eastern Region. Any form of private fighting, looting, or even malicious provocation is strictly prohibited. Violators will definitely be severely punished by the Holy Land."

Su Tianhui pointed at the city and continued his introduction, his tone carrying pride:

"In the early years, there was once a sect overseen by a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator. Relying on their formidable strength, they caused trouble in Heavenly Human City, injuring many disciples and Law Enforcement Hall cultivators of the Holy Land.

"As a result, just as the news reached Heavenly Abyss Mountain, the Heavenly Human Holy Land directly dispatched two ancestors and elders of all levels, uprooting that sect with lightning speed and completely exterminating them.

"Since then, no power or cultivator has ever dared to act wildly in Heavenly Human City again. The order here is far more stable than in other cities."

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly. Lightning methods to establish prestige in the world.

This style of doing things actually had a bit of his shadow from back in the day.

Gu Changyuan controlled the immortal boat, slowly stopping in the air ten miles away from the city gates.

"Let us part ways here."

Gu Changyuan said to the Su family members. His hitchhiking trip ended here. Next, he would enter the Holy Land in his own way.

"Thank you, Senior, for taking care of us along the way!"

Su Yunhao, Su Tianhui, Su Wanqing, and the others hurriedly bowed in salute. Although they felt extremely reluctant to part and wished to ask him to stay, they knew that this senior had his own way of doing things and did not dare to force it.

"Wanqing will definitely work hard and live up to Senior's expectations!"

Su Wanqing's eyes were even slightly red as she solemnly bowed in gratitude once more.

She knew that if it weren't for Senior Gu, it would be absolutely impossible for her to stand outside the gates of this holy city with such a completely new appearance.

Gu Changyuan nodded, saying no more.

Holding Gu Xing'er's small hand, he took a step forward, and his figure disappeared from the deck of the immortal boat.

The Su family members were all sent outside the city gates together, while the massive immortal boat was casually stored away by Gu Changyuan, vanishing without a trace.

At the city gates, the flow of people wove together like a tapestry.

Cultivators of various races, rogue cultivators, and disciples of aristocratic families—whether traveling alone or in groups, riding flying mounts or piloting magical artifacts—passed through the inspections in an endless stream to enter the city.

The order was well-maintained, and no one dared to make a ruckus or cause trouble.

Gu Changyuan did not line up, nor did he reveal any cultivation base.

He merely held Gu Xing'er's hand and, as if taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard, directly passed through the inspection formations and guards at the city gate—those formations and guards were practically non-existent to him.

Upon entering Heavenly Human City, the clamor and prosperity rushed at their faces.

Along both sides of the broad and neat streets, shops stood in great numbers, and banners fluttered in the wind.

There were cultivation shops selling pills, magical treasures, and talismans; restaurants and teahouses offering spirit meals and spirit wine; merchant guilds purchasing materials and issuing quests; and cave dwellings and courtyards available for temporary rent by cultivators.